Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) announced more than $100,000 in grants to support the arts in Maine’s First Congressional District. Seven Maine organizations were awarded the funding through the National Endowment for the Arts’ (NEA) flagship grant program, Grants for Arts Projects (GAP), which funds projects that engage their communities through art.

“The pandemic has shown us how important the arts are to our lives—they support the growing creative economy, engage our communities, and foster creativity,” said Congresswoman Pingree, co-chair of the Bipartisan Congressional Arts Caucus. “As Chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, I fought to increase the funding that makes these grant programs possible. I’m thrilled some of that funding is being invested in Maine. These grants will go a long way in supporting Maine artists and the communities that benefit from their work.”

The grants awarded are:

• Cultural Resources, Inc., Camden, ME—$20,000 to support the Wabanaki Traditional Arts Mentorship Program

• Pineland Farms Inc., New Gloucester, ME—$10,000 to support the identification, documentation, and a convening of woodworkers

• Creative Portland Corporation, Portland, ME—$30,000 to support the addition of an augmented reality feature to an existing arts-based digital application

• Portland Maine Symphony Orchestra, Portland, ME—$15,000 to support Concerts of Remembrance-Terezin to Portland, a performance project by the Portland Symphony Orchestra with related outreach activities

• The Telling Room, Portland, ME—$10,000 to support the Young Writers and Leaders Program

• Points North Institute (Camden International Film Festival), Rockport, ME—$20,000 to support professional development services and educational programs for nonfiction filmmakers and media artists presented by the Camden International Film Festival

• Waterville Creates! Waterville, ME—$10,000 to support arts programming managed by Waterville Creates and presented at the new Paul J. Schupf Art Center

The GAP funding for Maine organizations is among more than $26.6 million for 1,125 projects across the country announced today in the NEA’s second round of grantmaking for Fiscal Year 2022. Pingree serves as Chair of the House Appropriations Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, which oversees funding for the NEA, and secured $180 million for the NEA in the FY2022 government funding bill.

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